Little Drummer Girl
by brambernut
Summary: College Finchel. Rachel surprises Finn on their anniversary.


Fulfilling this prompt:

College Finchel. Finn brought his drum kit to he and Rachel's apartment. She secretly takes lessons because she wants to share something he's passionate about. He comes home early one day and catches her pounding out a beat. It's the hottest thing he's ever seen.

Bonus: She sits on his lap and he whispers, "Show me what you learned."

Double bonus: Pink drum sticks

Finn never expected it to be roses and tulips or whatever the heck those flowers were that Kurt liked to sing about, but college was proving to be a very trying experience. He went to classes, that talked about subjects he only pretended to understand about, he attempted to write intelligent essays on topics he had no knowledge of, and he hoped he was doing enough to pass.

Finn didn't expect to come out with top grades, but just to pass would suit him. He was only really doing the college thing for Rachel. She believed in him and he wanted to be the person she saw. It forever amazed him that she chose him. Out of everyone, he had been convinced she would ultimately pick Jesse, even if he _was_ a douchebag. In fact, coming home to Rachel at the end of a tiring day, and allowing her to massage his head with those magical hands of hers was enough to make him forget about his trials and tribulations.

"Hey honey, I'm home!" he hollered out as his keys unlocked the front door, the mahogany expanse swinging shut behind him.

Usually he was greeted with the sound of whatever tune had infiltrated her head, but today he was met with silence, which was entirely off-putting and concerned him slightly. Finn never did like those creepy answer phones, and as he heard her voice ramble on, for ages, about how she wasn't there and to leave a message he took a deep breath. One garbled message later, he put the phone down and wandered towards the only other thing he had ever gained any sense of comfort from.

Drumming was in his blood. He liked to pretend his dad had been a drummer in a rock band, but truthfully Finn didn't know where his musical ability came from. Carole was hardly the most melodic of people and he had never had proper training. They had managed and he had taken lessons whenever they could afford to. Looking back on everything now, it amused him slightly that the one thing he had cherished in his childhood was the very same thing keeping him sane in his adulthood.

Rachel came home late that night without a word of explanation of where she had been. Finn chalked it up to rehearsing for some big audition, and placed the lack of explanation as her nerves getting the better of her.

High school had been an experience, but college was something else, and for the next few days, being overworked, making time to catch up with Puck and keeping on top of his studies he barely saw Rachel, despite the fact that she was his girlfriend, and that their 5th year anniversary was fast approaching. He had been trying to plan the perfect surprise but considering the fact that he never saw her these days it was proving harder than he had anticipated. Puck didn't see the issue and thought it was better having time to himself, but Finn needed this to be perfect. New York was their perfect backdrop, it always had been, and he wanted their night to be magical.

On the day itself he went out and bought a beautiful bouquet of tulips. He had a picnic packed, ready to whisk her off somewhere romantic. She thought he had forgotten but that was the assumption he wanted her to make. Finn wanted to ambush her and show her how special she was. He could be a handful, leaving towels everywhere, drinking juice from the carton and playing his drums for hours on end and giving her a severe headache. But still she proudly smiled at him, never once discouraging him and assuring him that he would become a famous rock star drummer one day.

As he entered their apartment, he knew something was different. The haunting voice that had captivated him from day one, was back, but with it so was the rhythmic beat of two drumsticks, as she closed her eyes and allowed the tune to carry her, oblivious to his presence. She was truly the most incredible thing he had ever seen. Not to mention that the sight of her sweater rise slightly every time her drumstick hit the drum, and the way her tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on the notes she was playing totally turned him on.

"Um hi." he says eventually, breaking through her reverie. It's all he can manage right now, completely enchanted by the vision of her, wearing his favourite sweater, playing his drums as if she was always supposed to be there.

"Surprise!" she grinned, taking his reaction to be a positive one. He didn't freak out, and demand to know what was going on. "I wanted to surprise you for our anniversary. It means so much to you and I want to be part of everything you do." she clarified, waiting for a response from Finn.

He didn't look mad, whatever that meant. But as he approached her, she waited for the berating to begin. Or something about how she was invading his space. Instead he wordlessly lifted her up and taking a seat, placed her deftly on his lap, his hands closing around hers, the pink drumsticks firmly gripped in her hands. He leaned in close, a mere fraction away from her ear as he whispered, "Show me what you learned."

The picnic basked remained untouched as laughter and music filled the apartment, and Finn couldn't bring himself to care about the food that would spoil on account of it. For tonight, he had his own little drummer girl.


End file.
